The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops supports the government’s faith-based initiatives. Read a 2005 statement posted on the website.

Rebecca Sager is an assistant professor of sociology at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. She wrote Faith, Politics, and Power: The Politics of Faith-Based Initiatives (Oxford, 2010).

John DiIulio Jr. is a professor of politics, religion and civil society at the University of Pennsylvania and was the first director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. A frequent speaker and writer on faith-based social services, he is co-editor of What’s God Got to Do With the American Experiment? (Brookings, 2000).

“Federal Faith-Based Initiatives,” a report from the Urban Institute.

“Faith-Based Policy on the Ground” (July 2005), an Urban Institute report on how federal policy affects the state and local delivery of faith-based social services in Birmingham, Ala., Boston and Denver.

The website of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships includes information on grants as well as upcoming regional conferences and targeted workshops aimed at helping organizations apply for grants.

Phil Zuckerman is a professor of sociology and secular studies at Pitzer College in Claremont, Calif. He is the author of The Nonreligious: Understanding Secular People and Societies.

Gregory Koukl is founder and president of Stand to Reason, an organization devoted to Christian apologetics and based in Signal Hill, Calif. He is also an adjunct professor of Christian apologetics at Biola University and has written in defense of faith against the arguments of the new atheists.

Mona Eltahawy is a speaker, writer and commentator who focuses on issues concerning Islam. She is based in New York City.